"You do not understand! I have to go back!" Nema cried, trying to shove Thorin out of the way.
"Give him more time," the dwarf replied brusquely. He stood firm against her pleas to get back inside, blocking her way and preventing her from getting anywhere near the entrance.
"Time to do what?" Balin asked. "To be killed?"
"Time to find the Arkenstone."
Growing thoroughly irritated, Nema made to step back of the ledge and spread her wings, hoping to fly over Thorin, but the dwarf pre-empted her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back before her wings even twitched. "Thorin!" she snapped. "Bilbo is stuck down there with a dragon! When I left, Smaug was all but setting the whole place aflame. Do you really expect me to wait up here and let him burn Bilbo to ashes?"
Fire had already claimed someone she loved. She would not let her friend suffer the same fate.
"You're afraid," said Thorin. He looked around at his companions. "You're all afraid."
"Of course we are," said Balin, "and you should be too. I fear for you. A sickness lies upon that treasure hoard - a sickness that drove your grandfather mad."
"I am not my grandfather."
"You are not yourself either. The Thorin I know would not hesitate to go in there."
"I will not risk this quest for the life of one burglar."
Nema hit him with one of her wings - not hard enough to do any damage, but hard enough to sting. "His name," she hissed, "is Bilbo, and if you don't let me pass so I can try to save his life I will throw you off this mountain myself and be done."
It was an empty threat, and she knew it. There was nothing in all Middle Earth that would make her do such a thing. She would hit him, but that was as far as she could go. Even so, Nema kept her eyes fixed on Thorin's with a glare so fierce and steady he probably believed that she would not hesitate to do him harm.
Finally, after Thorin had met and held her gaze for what seemed like an age, the dwarf nodded, and turned his back on his Guardian to lead the descent into the mountain.
***
"Oakenshield....he sent you in here for the Arkenstone..." the deep, gravelly voice of Smaug echoed around hall, as loud as any thunderstorm. The dragon was constantly moving, snaking his long, barbed neck from side to side as he spoke while his thick tail swept across the mountains of coins, goblets and jewels.
The sight of all that gold made Nema's stomach turn over. Moments before - though truly it felt like an age - when she had been searching for the Arkenstone with Bilbo, she had not felt ill at all, only confused as to why anyone would need that much wealth. But now, crouching beside Thorin as they peeked over a toppled column to examine the situation, she could feel the sickness growing inside him, emanating off his skin and seeping through hers and into her heart. She could sense how differently he felt at seeing the gold than she did. While she felt nauseous, Thorin felt unbridled pleasure that made his heart hum in his chest, and when Nema spared a glance at him, she could see his eyes were gleaming bright in their sockets.
A slight shiver ran down her spine, so she looked away again and tried to ignore the growing sensation of dread.
"I guessed his foul purpose long ago, but it matters not," Smaug continued. Nema and Thorin were too far away to hear Bilbo's voice, but they could see him darting here and there whenever the dragon's gaze was elsewhere in a desperate attempt to get to safety. The other dwarves were waiting close to the entrance of the passage. "Oakenshield's quest will fail. A darkness is coming..."
Thorin's jaw clenched. "I will not fail," he growled under his breath. "This gold is mine by my father and by his father before him."
"Keep your voice down," Nema hissed. She was in no mood to listen to anymore of Thorin's grumblings while the dragon sickness was affecting him so strongly.
"You are being used, thief in the shadows. You were only ever a means to an end. The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing."
Nema looked pointedly at Thorin. "Does he speak the truth?" she whispered.
"No."
"Then prove it. Help me get Bilbo out of there." She knew the real Thorin was in there somewhere. This sickness...it wasn't him. She had to hold on to that knowledge.
But the dwarf only looked back at her with steal in his eyes. "You want me to run out there and rescue a burglar?"
"Bilbo, and yes, I would. You owe him that. How many times has he risked his life to save yours?"
Before Thorin could even draw breath to speak, Smaug's huge tail came swinging over their heads as the great beast flicked it across the cavern. Nema pushed Thorin down and looked back to see Bilbo darting out from a hiding place towards a sparkling white gem. Seeing his prey, Smaug brought a claw crashing down on the hoard, sending gold flying in every direction and causing another landslide of coins. Bilbo, along with the gem he had been so close to seizing, was flung into the air, only to land in another heap of treasure.
"My teeth are swords," Smaug bellowed, "my claws are spears. My wings are a hurricane!"
"Thorin, we need to help him now!" Nema said, trying to hurry the dwarf over the fallen column they were hiding behind.
"No, the burglar is leading the dragon away. We would be wiser to search for the Arkenstone now while Smaug is distracted-"
Nema gave him no time to finish. Grabbing Thorin by the scruff of the neck, she launched them into the air and shot towards Smaug. He struggled against her hold but she would not let go.
"Here's your Oakenshield, you worm!" Nema shrieked, distracting Smaug from his pursuit of Bilbo entirely. As soon as she had his attention, Nema soared up and over his head, and kept on climbing until she could see the vaulted ceiling above. Smaug tried to follow her ascent, throwing himself up and clawing at the columns. But even in this large cavern he could not spread his wings enough to fly.
"Don't you dare even think about it..." Thorin growled as soon as he realised what her next move would be. Nema had stopped flying upwards, and instead was hovering at the very top of the cavern.
She ignored him, angled down, and folded her wings.
They fell fast, the air rushing past them at such a pace it made their ears hurt and their eyes water, but Nema did nothing to halt their descent. Her eyes were fixed on Smaug.
The dragon's eyes widened with malicious glee as he watched them draw closer and closer. He opened his mouth.
Nema watched, transfixed, as a burning light grew from deep down in Smaug's belly and rose up his throat. At the very last moment, just as the first few flames shot out of Smaug's mouth, Nema's wings snapped open and they were soaring past Smaug's snout, over his head again, down his barbed back and then straight for Bilbo.
"Run!" Nema shouted.
He did not need telling twice. He turned sharply on his heel and started to make for a nearby doorway, but he had not even made it two strides before Nema was gathering him up in her free arm and carrying him down a flight of stairs, half-hidden by gold coins, and through an archway into a passage.
It was only then that she released Thorin, throwing him to the ground like she would a sack of potatoes. Bilbo, she set down with more care, looking him over for an injuries and apologising non-stop for leaving him behind.
Thorin grunted and spat out dirt. "Never again," he growled, pushing himself to his feet and leaning heavily against the wall to steady himself. "Never do that to me ever again, do you hear? Never use me as bait like that again."
"Then don't use Bilbo as bait either. Or any of us!" Nema snapped back. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down.
The dwarf lunged for her. Thorin drove her against the wall, mindless of crushing her wings, and pinned her to it.
"I thought you were my Guardian," he said. "I thought you were supposed to protect me from harm, not throw me into it's jaws."
"I'm sorry," said Nema. "I'm sorry I got landed with you and not assigned to someone worthy of my protection."
She regretted the words as they were out of her mouth, and she wished to the sky and back that she could have stopped herself from speaking them. This is not me, she thought. It was more than a little unnerving. It's the dragon sickness. His mind is affecting mine.
"I'm sorry, Thorin. I did not mean what I said." She watched him carefully. There was something in his eyes that had not been there when she had been talking to him outside. A softness - not much of it, but enough. The dwarf she had known on the road to Erebor was in there, she could see him. She could see he was fighting the sickness with everything he had, but it just wasn't enough.
Thorin loosened his hold on her, only for Nema to slip her arms around him. "Keep fighting," she whispered. "You are not your grandfather."
"We need to find the others," Thorin said stiffly, and pushed her away. Nema gestured to Bilbo to follow him, then watched the pair start up the passage. The dwarf had not acknowledged her words, but she knew he had heard them.
Her heart was set. She would bring the old Thorin back to the surface if it was the last thing she did. There was no way in hell that she was going to save his life only to lose him to his gold.
***So I finally updated this. I had a really busy year so I wasn't able to write as much as I would have liked. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. It's not my best but once I get back into doing it regularly everything will be fine. More chapters to follow soon! Thanks for reading!***